


It's a Girl(friend) Thing

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [73]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-29
Updated: 2012-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-15 06:05:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/523960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek didn’t want to generalize girls; Emily always told him that wasn’t something a good man did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Girl(friend) Thing

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the Thicker than Water universe where the BAU are kids and teens. Tina Lopez was the local LEO from the episode, In Heat. I always liked her for Derek. #101, here we go.

“It’s a little lame.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean that it’s a little lame.”

“Its not…it’s epic.”

“Not really.” She shook her head.

“Why do you do that? That is so not cool.”

“What?” she glanced at him with a confused look on her face. “What did I do?”

“You totally dissed something I'm into. That’s not cool, Tina.”

“That’s not what I did.”

“Yes it is.” Derek said.

“Just because we’re boyfriend and girlfriend doesn’t mean we have to be one of those two-headed monsters who like all the same things. We promised we would never be that.”

“Yeah, and I definitely intend to keep that promise. That’s not what I'm talking about though. You're totally dissing something that means a lot to me.”

“Oh my God Derek, are you really gonna get sniffly about _Star Wars_?” she asked.

“Don’t go there…I'm not sniffly.”

“And I don’t think it’s a big deal that I don’t care for a sci-fi movie. OK, I take back calling it lame. I may feel that way but I didn’t have to say it out loud.”

“If they gave out Academy Awards for lousiest apologies ever that one would win hands down.”

“I was trying to be nice and you're still mad. What the what, Derek?”

“Here's what the what. There are probably a quarter billion things that you're into that I would rather drill screws into my eyelids than participate in. But I don’t diss your stuff. I don’t do it because you're with me and I respect your right to be into stuff that I'm not. But you always diss my stuff. You won't do things with me but when I say no to doing things then I'm a bad boyfriend. I am not a bad boyfriend.”

“I do not diss your stuff.” Tina said.

“Yeah you do.” Morgan nodded. “You just sat here and said Star Wars was lame. I mean c'mon, we’re talking about _Star Wars_. Have you ever even seen it because you’ve surely never watched it with me? I've invited you to a few times but you always say no. Yet I can name a handful of movies with Gwyneth Paltrow that I've sat through because we’re together. I shouldn’t know any Gwyneth Paltrow movies.”

“The last time I checked there were more benefits to being with me than Gwyneth Paltrow movies.”

“And the last time I checked when you're a couple you did stuff together. You share, and all that stuff.”

“We do share!” Tina exclaimed.

“We share all the stuff that you like. We share shopping and _Dawson’s Creek_ , bad pop music and books whose heroines have names like Aubrey or Monique. I could tell you 200 things about you Tina, right now, but what can you tell me about me.”

“I cannot believe you're getting so bent out of shape about _Star Wars_.” She rolled her eyes.

“This is about more than that!” Now Morgan was shouting.

“Is everything alright?”

Jason came out on the back porch. He’d been in the kitchen and heard the two teenagers as the conversation escalated. He’d known Derek long enough to know when he was getting frustrated or angry. The older teen had no intention of letting it go to the point of no return. Couples disagreed and even argued; it was a fact of life. But Morgan and Tina were just 15. Jason would put his foot down if he had to.

“Everything’s cool Jason.” Morgan said. “We’re just talking. It’s OK.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, for real.” Derek nodded. He looked slightly annoyed but knew where Jason was coming from. There was no reason to get upset about it since he was already upset enough. Derek needed to stay focused.

Jason nodded and went back into the house. Derek looked after him before focusing on Tina again.

“Just tell me five things about me Tina. We’ve been you and me for practically a year so you should be able to. What’s my favorite book? What baseball or football team do I love? How do I cheer myself up when I'm down? What tattoo do I want to get for my 18th birthday? Just tell me something.”

“You're a _Star Wars_ fanatic.” Tina replied.

“You're joking around but I'm being serious. I mean I'm thinking there's no point being with someone when you give 100% and the other person gives way less. This is exactly why I didn’t even want to do this…it always ends up like this.”

“Are you breaking up with me?”

Tina seemed mortified at the prospect. Derek could see the fear, sadness, and anger in her eyes. He wondered if it was about losing him or losing a boyfriend. He never wanted to think Tina was like the other girls he knew. Derek didn’t want to generalize girls; Emily always told him that wasn’t something a good man did. And he liked Tina. He liked her from the moment he laid eyes on her. He didn’t want to lose her if he didn’t have to.

“Tell me five things about me, Tina. Any five things; I don’t even care. I just need to know that you listen to me when I talk. I need to know I'm not the guy you can be with and tell all your friends that you have a boyfriend. I want to make sure you know and give a damn about Derek Morgan. I've lost so much in my life and I've had no control over any of it. I can control not losing myself.”

They were both quiet. Derek watched the rain fall in the backyard. The rain was unexpected and ruined his morning of mowing. He was supposed to spend his afternoon teaching Spencer kickass bike tricks. Spencer opted instead for a Saturday inside playing board games with Ashley. Seaver wasn’t fond of rainy days…she needed constant brain stimulation. 

Spencer said it was OK if Morgan invited Tina over to hang out. She’d been unhappy lately with their lack of time together while Morgan hung out at the Boys and Girls Club. Morgan was starting to think it was a bad idea having her over. He had no idea how they got to where they were but it had to be for a reason. Everything happened for a reason. 

He would be alright on his own. He’d surely been there before. The sick feeling he already felt in his stomach meant it was going to hurt though. Damn, this was exactly why he didn’t want to go there. Hurting sucked so much.

“Your favorite book is _Mother Night_.” She said. “You also love _The Thomas Berryman Number_ but Kurt Vonnegut wins out simply for being Kurt Vonnegut. The Bears are your favorite football team and you like the Steelers too. You’ll root for the Redskins in a pinch but you really think they suck. You want to get a tattoo of your mother and all of your sisters that will probably hurt like hell. It might take up your entire back but that doesn’t bother you…you have to represent. 

“You don’t tell anyone but you still sleep with the tiny Walter Payton teddy bear because it was the last thing your mother gave you before she died. You like girls in bikinis, chocolate shakes, French fries, and you're really getting into lifting weights and bicycling. This year at school you're definitely going to volunteer for the Special Olympics but still haven’t figured out a way to adjust your schedule. You're not overly impressed with Shakespeare except for the tragedies and _Othello_ is your favorite. You said that even in the 1600s Shakespeare could highlight the strength of character of a black man. 

“You didn’t like that the story seemed to say that interracial marriage could lead to betrayal and death but I always disagreed with that. I just never told you. Oh, and _Planet of the Apes_ has the best ending in modern American cinema though _The Usual Suspects_ is a close second. You said you saw _Planet of the Apes_ as a little dude and the ending shattered you. 

“I know things about you Derek. I don’t go out with you so I can keep up with the Joneses or whatever. You make me feel good and we have fun together. I'm starting to realize that might be because a lot of the time we’re doing something I want to do.”

“Most of the time, yeah.” he nodded. 

A part of him was relieved that Tina actually did know all these things about him. But after a few minutes he was upset again. She knew these things and she still didn’t budge on participating more in his life. If she couldn’t at least sometimes watch a game with him or let him go crazy talking about a book or a movie he liked then they weren't in a mutually beneficial relationship. And this wasn’t the kind of thing a 15 year old needed to be worried about anyway. It was too much to handle.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

“I don't know. I just did and it wasn’t pretty.”

“You probably could’ve come up with a better way than being argumentative and unpleasant.”

“I think the whole point of this is to say that even when I win I still don’t win.”

“We shouldn’t make it about winning and losing.”

“Let’s just keep it real Tina, relationships are so much better for girls than for guys.”

“I don’t want you to be with me if you're miserable.” She said.

“I'm not miserable.” Derek shook his head. “I just never intended to do this boyfriend-girlfriend thing when we first starting hanging out. You seemed totally cool with that but somehow we ended up doing it anyway.”

“It happened through a natural progression of time, not by anyone pushing it. I thought that would be OK.”

“I'm not saying its un-OK.” Derek said.

“What are you saying?” Tina looked at him.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“I think I'm just going to go home Derek.” She stood up. “Maybe we need some time to think about stuff.”

“Do you want me to walk you?”

“No I don’t. My bag is in the house and I’ll walk myself out.”

“C'mon Tina, I can walk you out at least.”

“It’s cool Derek.” She bent down to kiss him. “Bye.”

It felt like the last time he was going to see her and that sucked. Derek liked Tina; she was a super awesome girl. She wasn’t perfect but he wasn’t either. They were just 15…maybe they were getting too serious. Maybe they needed time and distance to reprioritize. 

Or maybe this was just the end. He really had no idea. All Derek knew for sure was that it hurt. It hurt so much that he almost felt like crying. He wasn’t going to cry, he would man up, but he felt like he might.

***

“Hey, I got your note.” Emily poked her head into Derek’s half-opened door. “What's up?”

Derek opened his eyes and looked at her.

“I think me and Tina broke up this afternoon.” He said.

“You think? Of all the people I know you're the person who would know for sure.”

“Come in.”

Emily walked in and closed the door. She sat in Derek’s brand new desk chair. Spencer and Ashley played helicopter in the last one and it didn’t survive. Last week Dave came over with a new one and they built it together. Her first time sitting in it, Emily could say it was pretty comfortable.

“It was like one those bad romance movies, Em. Like all these words were said and then nothing was said and then there were more words and that ‘what are we even doing’ moment, and then Tina said she was going home. I asked if she wanted me to walk with her. I always walk her home, but she said no. She said she was even walking herself out. Isn’t that what the girl always says in the movies? They always walk themselves out when it’s over. The only thing missing was the ‘I'm sorry’ or the ‘its not you it’s me’ thing. Tina didn’t even call me when she got home. I called to check she got in alright and her mom said yeah.”

“Well how did that make you feel?” Emily asked.

“Aww man, c'mon Prentiss, don’t ask me that.”

“What am I supposed to ask you then?”

“I didn’t want a girlfriend because I never wanted that weird breakup where we never speak to each other again over something dumb. Tina is the coolest girl I know and I'm fine with it just being me and Tina but she wants more. Maybe I gave in cuz I didn’t want to lose me and Tina but I ended up doing that anyway.”

“Did you ever tell Tina that you didn’t want a girlfriend?”

“Sort of. I told her I didn’t want to put labels on stuff and I've never asked her outright to be my girl. I mean Jason asked you to be his girl, right?”

“Yeah.” Emily nodded.

“So you're supposed to ask right? It’s not official until you ask and I never asked.”

“But you bought her gifts. You spent time with her, went out with her, was monogamous with her, and I'm pretty sure you got close to or right on second base with her. Labels or not, that’s got boyfriend and girlfriend written all over it. You never have to say the words to create the expectation, Derek.”

“And that’s what sucks.” He pointed at her. “Silence doesn’t equal compliance.”

“Yes it does.” Emily nodded. “In this instance it does.”

“That sucks.” He mumbled. “I'm a kid, how am I supposed to keep track of what instances do and what instances don’t?

“You just have to act as if all instances do. You have a voice; use it. What are you going to do?”

“I don't know what to do. I don’t want me and Tina not to hang out anymore but I am only 15. I don’t want to feel like I'm married. I'm not ready for something that deep.”

“Can I ask you something personal?” Emily asked.

“Probably.”

“What if Tina wanted to go all the way or to third base or something? Would you pretend to be whatever she wanted to get there?”

“That’s not fair cuz even commercials sometimes give me wood. I would never lie to her but I am a dude. I know you're kinda talking about that lie of omission thing that Gideon talks about sometimes. I honestly don’t know. We all want to think we wouldn’t be jerks but I don’t know. I know I like Tina too much to hurt her like that. I would never do it on purpose.”

“You should call her and talk.”

“I hate talking.” Derek said.

“I know that.” Emily smiled. “You probably need to do it anyway.”

“OK.” He nodded. “Emily, what do I do if she breaks up with me or something?”

“If it happens then we’ll all support you. It’s gonna hurt like hell; there's no denying that. Just talk to her. That’s a good place to start.”

“I will.” He got off the bed and hugged her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” she kissed him, sticking out her tongue when he made a face. “Later on maybe we’ll have a sundae.”

“That sounds cool. Alright, I'm gonna call her.”

Emily nodded. She got up from the chair and left the room. Derek sat back on the bed. He sighed, picking up the phone and listening to the dial tone. There was something in him that didn’t want to do this but knew that he had to. So Derek dialed the number. Whatever happened it would be better than this weird ass limbo he was in. He didn’t like that feeling at all.

***

Morgan didn’t want a sundae; he didn’t think his stomach could take it. Emily brought him a few Oreos and a glass of milk instead.

“Did it not go well?” she asked putting the snack on his desk.

“Tina wants to take some time. She said there are things she needs to think about. She said I need to do the same even if I don’t know it or won't admit it. I don’t want my life to turn into _As the World Turns_ , Prentiss. Its summertime and I don’t want drama.”

“Just relax. I don't know what's gonna happen but if Tina wants space then just give it to her. It might give you a chance to think too.”

“I guess.” Morgan shrugged. “Thanks for listening to me today.”

“I'm always going to listen to you.” Emily said. “I got story time with the munchkins but I’ll pop my head in later.”

“I'm gonna get back into this Phillies game. See ya Emily.”

“Bye.”

She left his room and went down the attic steps. Walking down to the other end of the hall, Emily went into Jason’s room. He was tidying up and listening to the radio.

“I'm reading with the munchkins and then I want all of your attention.” She said.

“What are you guys reading tonight?” he asked.

“ _James and the Giant Peach_. See you soon.”

“Can I have a kiss?”

With a big grin, Emily rushed into his arms and kissed him passionately. “Love you.” she murmured against his lips.

“Love you more.” Jason squeezed her tighter. “Is Morgan OK? I know that he and Tina had a fight earlier.”

“I think he will be. Love can be complicated and messy and weird.”

“So we should consider ourselves lucky?”

“Quite.” Kissing her nose, Emily moved out of Jason’s arms and left the room. Then she walked into Spencer and Ashley’s room. They were both relaxing on Spencer’s bed. “Are you guys ready for a big adventure?”

“Yeah!” they cheered. Ashley handed her the Roald Dahl classic.

Emily sat down on the bed, opened the book, and jumped right in.

***


End file.
